The RideAndSlay Mission

My very best friend in the world, Charlotte Cannon, a renowned horse trainer and top Toy Sheltie breeder in the United States. Recently, she wrote to me, “The ones I meet at my clinics of these breeds '[Friesians, Gypsians, Iberians, and Draft crosses] are very misunderstood. That being said, I see lots more TBs, WBs, QHs, and Arabs than your crosses. The biggest thing I see today is there are very few horse-developers today.” —Charlotte Cannon, 2023.

Prudent leadership is a foundational piece of our six-stage evidence-based program. Just like people, horses and dogs who are taught to cope with the world are winners in life. The opposite is also true. A child with no boundaries, no leadership, and no coping skills becomes an adult who often flounders in the process of making grave errors. As a forensic criminologist, I’ve seen this over and over again in my work, killer after killer. Interestingly, our breeding program is in part a reflection of my work as a criminologist and my more than 20 years in solving murders.

There are lots of untrained fantasy horses out there and way too many dogs loaded with behavioral problems. The market is flooded with them both. But what is lacking is horses and dogs equipped to do great things. The gap is glaring between “broke, broke, broke,” and unmannerly, spooky, stressed out fantasy horses and dogs that are solid citizens. There are lots of breeders out there who breed because they love babies, but not as many horse-developers or dog fanciers out there who love training. The bedrock of our buying, training, breeding, and selling programs for both our horses and dogs is different. We are intentionally building solid citizens that thrive with their people and other animals in the world. The foundation for this philosophy is to minimize breeding-blindness by not saddling our stock with breeder insecurities and baggage. Instead, breeding horses and dogs with great health, great minds, good conformation, that perform. Horses and dogs that manage stress in positive ways, horses and dogs that can solve problems, and horses and dogs who choose to be good citizens because they want to not because they have been “cowboy-upped” or strong-armed into submission.

Horses and dogs need healthy boundaries. Destriers, Coursers, Palfreys, which are Friesians and Gypsy Vanners crossbred with Clydesdales, Shires, Andalusians, and Lusitanos, are horses of strength who definitely require prudent leadership. And by that same token, Jack Russell Terriers also require prudent leadership. Some people say Friesians are crazy. Some people say drafts are bullies. Some people say Jack Russells are insane. None of that is true. There is no evidence to substantiate an entire breed of population of dogs or horses is exclusively defined by one trait or the other. Pit bulls get a bad rap because humans fail them, not because they are inherently dangerous. Any dog can be dangerous in the wrong hands. Any horse can also be dangerous in the wrong hands.

Our buying, training, breeding, and sales program not only invests in health and conformation as many breeding programs do. Our program is grounded on the psychology of the horse and dog. Developing horses and dogs who will inspire people to heal their own trauma and grow more than they ever imagined. The philosophy of our breeding program combines all of my passions into one single dream: to breed fantasy horses that ride, train, and live like Quarter Horses and Jack Russells that life and train like calm, sensible dogs. If we can accomplish these goals we have cracked the case and will leave the world better than we found it. #RideAndSlay

—Laura